Consumer-Oriented System for the Delivery of Produce including improved safety methods

ABSTRACT

A Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce including improved safety methods with convenient and accessible packaging includes a step for receiving the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F., another step for washing the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F., another step for coring, skinning, and/or removing seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions, another step for slicing the fruit into small bite-sized portions, another step for Passing the fruit through a metal-detection system and a step for Cold Pasteurizing the fruit with a hydrostatic chamber. This Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce including improved methods of safety and packaging is used for the purpose of increasing healthy and convenient consumption of produce, eliminating pathogens, increasing shelf life, and for reducing spoilage.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the area of produce and more particularly pertains to Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce including convenient and accessible packaging and improved methods of safety and packaging for eliminating pathogens, increasing shelf life, and for reducing spoilage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is a universal desire to eat healthy that transcends all cultures, societies, and beliefs. This desire to consume more unprocessed fruits and vegetables is borne through the realization that the fresher the food, the better it is. By way of contrast, it is widely believed, and supported through a panoply of empirical scientific research, that the addition of various preservatives, and other man-made processes inexorably attenuates the nutritional value and attendant health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.

To fulfill this desire, public health officials and other leading nutritionists uniformly agree that eating several servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day, is an integral part of eating and living a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, the process of attaining these goals is stifled by several logistical and safety issues.

For example, many types of fruit require peeling, cutting, cracking, dicing, or other methods. These methods oftentimes require a substantial amount of time, a kitchen or similar facility, knives, or special equipment, which may not be available to someone who is on her/his lunch break, is on the go, or is in school or at the beach.

Another public health issue, which inheres with the consumption of fruit, are various pathogens which are ubiquitous. Each year, many people die from the consumption of pathogen-contaminated fruit. Also, each year, billions of dollars worth of fruit are lost to spoilage. In particular, grocery stores battle the complexities of logistics to maintain an adequate supply of fresh fruit. When a grocery store receives fruit, this fruit must be sold as quickly as possible, otherwise the fruit will spoil and have to be discarded.

A related issue is when a customer brings the fruit home from the grocery store. Oftentimes, the vagaries of life will result in spoiling fruit in one's refrigerator or kitchen counter. As the fruit starts to turn brown and dehydrates, many customers simply throw the fruit away.

Of course, attempts have been made to mitigate the issue of fruit spoilage. Many food companies can their fruits with preservatives attendant to rigorous processing methods. What's more, many canned fruits are infused with sugars, or corn syrup, which may make the fruit less healthy.

Unfortunately, these processes seriously compromise the quality and taste, as well as the aesthetic looks, the nutritional value, price, and the anticipated salutary effects of the fruit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided for the purpose of facilitating the consumption of produce, eliminating pathogens, increasing shelf life, and for reducing spoilage. In various implementations of an embodiment, the Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce includes the steps of: a.) Receiving the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F., b.) Washing the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F., c.) coring, skinning, and/or removing seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions, d.) slicing the fruit into small bite-sized portions, e.) passing the fruit through a metal detection system, f.) placing the bite sized portions of fruit into the Packaging, and g.) cold pasteurizing (pressurizing) the packaging with the inserted fruit in a high pressure system at a temperature between 38°-50° F.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a unique Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce including improved methods of safety and packaging is provided for the purpose of eliminating pathogens, increasing shelf life, and for reducing spoilage. The present invention is described in enabling detail below.

For the purpose of the present invention, the term “fruit” shall hereinafter refer to all fruit, which are adaptable for use with the following methodologies. Given the rigorous nature of the accompanying methods, not all fruit may be expedient for use with the present process. Furthermore, the term “produce” shall hereinafter refer to all fruit, vegetables, or other foods, which may be adaptable for use with the various embodiments described herein.

It should be noted here that the process to be described in enabling detail below might also be expedient for the treatment and packaging of fruit juice. For this reason, the scope of the present invention should not be limiting to only include fruit. The following embodiments may be construed to further include the step of pressurizing and packaging of the fruit juice as well.

FIG. 1 illustrates that the Consumer-oriented system for the delivery of produce including improved methods of safety and packaging 100 includes a Step 1 for Receiving the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F. 101, a Step 2 for Washing the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F. 102, a Step 3 for coring, skinning, and/or removing seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions, 103, a Step 4 for Slicing the fruit into small bite-sized portions 104, a Step 5 for Passing the fruit through a metal-detection system 105 a Step 6 106 for placing the bite-sized portions of fruit into the packaging, and a Step 7 107 for Cold Pasteurizing the packaging with the inserted fruit into the high pressure system at a temperature between 38°-50° F.

The first step of receiving the fruit through a cold chain logistics system at a temperature between 38°-50° F. 101 is used for the purpose of ensuring the handling, processing, and packaging are done under a consistently maintained ambient temperature of 38°-50° F. The fruit will arrive in a refrigerated truck directly from the groves, orchards, or the like at said temperature. Subsequently, it is received in the loading bay at the same temperature. This is hereinafter referred to as the “cold chain”. The process described herein maintains this temperature for the purpose of ensuring the freshness and sanitation of the fruit.

Different types of fruit as illustrated in FIG. 6 750, 751, 752 have varying degrees of thickness and durability. They also have their unique degrees of holding various pathogens. As such, a pineapple may have to be washed at a different pressure setting as opposed to an orange.

The step for washing the fruit is performed at a temperature between 38°-50° F. This process is performed under aseptic conditions wherein the employees wear hair-nets 525, and the whole facility is maintained using fastidious methods of sterilization as illustrated in FIG. 5. Moreover, the entire process is executed with a vigorous washing of the hands, and other measures may be taken to reduce the presence of air-borne pathogens and fungi.

The third step of coring, skinning, and/or removing seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions 103 is used for the purpose of preparing the fruit for insertion into the packaging. This step will vary due to the particular type of fruit upon which employees are operating.

The fourth step includes slicing the fruit into small bite-sized portions. The tools by which the users cut the fruit must also be rigorously sterilized with heat, soap, water, and other methods.

The practice of packaging fruit into small bite-sized containers while maintaining safety and freshness simultaneously has heretofore not been performed due to the fact that logistical issues, compounded with spoilage have prevented fruit distributors and processors from bringing them to market. This stems in no small part from the inability to properly pasteurize the fruit in such a way to prolong the shelf-life of the fruit while not compromising the freshness, taste and nutritional value of the fruit, and from the lack of many of the safety features, methods, and protocols discussed herein.

Through this unique packaging system, a consumer will be able to purchase a single package or a package with several individual bite sized pieces of sliced, or diced fruit. This is a departure and an improvement from the previous way of consuming fruit whereby a consumer usually would have to wait until they get home wherein they will have their knives, cutting boards, and sinks at the ready.

Through the use of the individual bite-sized “snack-packs”, consumers will not have to worry about any of the above. Instead, with these snack packs, consumers may eat their desired fruit at any time, anywhere.

Moreover, consumers may be able to purchase their fruit from most supermarkets, convenient stores or vending machines (similar to their not so healthy counterparts like fatty snacks, chips, candies, sodas etc.) and consume them immediately, at workplace, school, at the beach, or any other place very conveniently, and where knives, kitchen utensils, or a running water supply is not nearby. This is due to the fact that the fruit which is contained in the snack packs are already cut, diced, or processed in such a way that the consumer will not have to peel, or perform any other process to consume the fruit. In furtherance of this aspect of an embodiment, most packaging may further comprise a fork, spoon or other utensil so that a consumer may be able to eat the fruit.

The fifth step of passing the fruit through a metal-detection system 725 is used for the purpose of removing any metallic particles, which may be found within or upon the fruit as a precautionary measure. Again, the metal-detection system environment is maintained at a temperature of 38°-50° F. to maintain the cold chain. In one embodiment, the metal detection system further comprises a semi-sealed unit 775 with an integrated refrigeration system 755 within the housing 765, which is disposed near the metal detection device 785.

Step 6 106 includes placing the bite-sized portions of fruit into the Packaging 255. FIG. 4 illustrates that in one embodiment, the Packaging has a bottom surface 555, which is wider than the top surface for the purpose of enabling the main package to stand in an upright or vertical position to make the product attractive on store shelves or other point of sale displays. This is sometimes referred to as a “pouch”.

Step 7 107 includes Cold Pasteurizing the fruit which are housed in the packaging by placing those sealed packages within a high-pressure system 155. This process is also performed under cold-chain conditions at 38°-50° F.

This cold pasteurization process takes place in a hydrostatic chamber. The fluid in which the packaging are immersed can be subjected to pressures up to 80,000 psi in order to destroy many food-borne pathogens such as Listeria, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella. In addition, this pressurization process is also used to target the very microorganisms, which are the primary causes of fruit or produce spoilage. Moreover, the pressurizing process, although rigorous on the pathogens, leaves the taste, shape and integrity of the fruit in its original and unaltered natural state.

Because the high pressure process is able to act quickly and evenly on food, neither the size of a product's container nor its thickness play a role in the effectiveness of pressurizing. The High Pressure Process does not greatly affect the nutritional value, taste, texture, and appearance. As a result, the high pressure treatment of foods is regarded as a “natural” preservation method, as it does not use chemical preservatives.

In one embodiment, the packaging will be comprised of one type of fruit. However, the larger packages will comprise a plurality of fruits, which are housed in their own respective packaging. These packaging are then selected based upon their intrinsic nutritional makeup. The composite of these fruits with their particular vitamins and nutrients are used to meet or achieve the parameters of a particular physiological goal or predetermined level in the body of the consumer.

For instance, if one type of fruit is relatively high in Vitamin C, and may be low in Magnesium, the larger package may include another selected fruit housed in its own individual compartment, which will be relatively high in Magnesium. Therefore, in one embodiment, the variety of fruits may be mixed and matched to achieve a particular nutritional metric in terms of vitamins, minerals, calories, carbohydrates, acids, or other quality.

It will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there are numerous changes that may be made in embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As such, the invention taught herein by specific examples is limited only by the scope of the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising the steps of: receiving the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F.; washing the fruit at a temperature between 38 °-50° F.; coring, skinning, and/or removing seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions; slicing the fruit into small bite-sized portions; passing the fruit through a metal-detection system; placing the bite-sized portions of fruit into the packaging; and Cold Pasteurizing the packaging with the inserted fruit in a high-pressure process system.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cold pasteurizing is performed at a temperature of between 38°-50° F.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the passing of the fruit through the metal-detection system is performed at a temperature between 38°-50° F.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the cold pasteurization is performed at a pressure of 80,000 psi.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of selecting a plurality of fruits with intrinsic nutritional elements; the composite of the nutritional elements meets the parameters to achieve a pre-determined nutritional metric or goal.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the parameters are selected from the group consisting of: vitamins, minerals, and acids.
 7. A pressurizing and packaging system comprising a package, at least and a high pressure system wherein the system: i.) receives the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F.; ii.) washes the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F.: iii.) cores, skins, and/or removes seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions; iv.) slices the fruit into small bite-sized portions; vi.) places the bite-sized portions of fruit into the packaging and seals the packaging; and vii.) cold pasteurizes the packaging with the inserted fruit in a high-pressure system.
 8. The system of claim 7 further comprising a metal detection apparatus; the metal detection apparatus comprises a housing and a metal detection device.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the metal detection apparatus is semi-sealed.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the metal detection apparatus further comprises a refrigeration system disposed within the housing.
 11. A fruit pressurizing and packaging facility comprises: a package, and a high pressure system wherein the facility: i.) receives the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F.; ii.) washes the fruit at a temperature between 38°-50° F.; iii.) cores, skins, and/or removes seeds from the fruit under aseptic conditions; iv.) slices the fruit into small bite-sized portions; v.) passes the fruit through a metal-detection system; vi.) places the bite-sized portions of fruit into the packaging and seals the packaging; and vii.) cold pasteurizes the packaging with the inserted fruit in a high-pressure system
 12. The facility of claim 11 wherein the high pressure system is a hydrostatic chamber.
 13. The facility of claim 11 wherein the metal detection system further comprises a refrigeration system.
 14. The facility of claim 13 wherein the metal detection system is semi-sealed.
 15. The facility of claim 14 wherein the metal detection system is maintained at a temperature of between 38°-50° F. 